Friday, July 25, 2008

Hundreds were turned away and left outside the Pigs Nose Inn , East Prawl, Devon for the return of The Rats. A set comprising of early songs and Dr. Feelgood covers went down like a storm. A great night out for those who happened to be on vacation in that part of the world. The rest of us have a few opportunities to catch them in August and early next year.

But while the event is unashamedly based on Glastonbury, Fuji Rock is a totally different experience.

"It might be inspired by Glastonbury, but done in a Japanese way," says the festival's international organiser, Johnnie Fingers.

Fingers' real name is John Moylett, but he is better known to many as a founding member of The Boomtown Rats. He has been working in the Japanese music scene for 15 years, and has been part of the Fuji Rock team for six of them.

'Fuji experience'

"We call it the Fuji experience. It is like Glastonbury, but has been perfected in that Japanese way," he says.

"The biggest difference is that is so clean. Everybody cleans up their own mess.

"It is also so secure and safe. People leave things out without worrying about theft."

Fingers adds Fuji Rock - named after the mountain which played host to the first festival in 1997 - has set itself apart by keeping sponsorship to a minimum, concentrating on the festival's spectacular setting in a steep mountain valley.

"Japanese people are so used to being surrounded by advertising and sponsorship, so we have tried to make this feel like a weekend away in the countryside," he explains.

The festival attracts a mainly Japanese crowd, with about 90% of revellers being local.

A final question for Johnnie Fingers - has he persuaded any of his old Boomtown Rats bandmates to visit Fuji Rock yet?

He shakes his head: "Not yet. Bob Geldof was over here recently and we had dinner. It was the first time I'd seen him in 20 years - but he mainly wanted to talk about the G8."

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Bobby the westie is hailed by critics as the real star of the capital's Wizard Of Oz show

Toto is played by Bobby, a West Highland terrier who has something of a showbusiness pedigree - he is the protege of former Boomtown Rats guitarist Gerry Cott.

Mr Cott, who founded the group with Bob Geldof but quit before their fifth album was released, has coached Bobby to perform tricks that leave audiences open-mouthed

Mr Cott, 55, who lives with his wife Cathy and sons Harry, 19, and Sonny, 11, near Leatherhead, said: 'He has integrated so well with the cast because he is so calm and relaxed.

Our method of training works on the dog's character and confidence, which means they can be comfortable even on stage in front of hundreds of people.

'It is a bit like, "Look at me, look at me,"' said Mr Cott.

'It was a little unfair of him to muscle in on such a lovely moment in the play.'

He and Harry, who is working as Bobby's chaperone during the show's run, spent a week integrating the dog with the cast and teaching Sian Brooke, who plays Dorothy, a series of silent cues to prompt his performance.

Mr Cott, who was born into an Irish farming family, said he enjoyed working with animals and that his time with the Boomtown Rats had helped him gear his training towards the film, music and television industries.He said contrary to some rumours, Bobby was not named after Geldof.

The Cotts, who own dress designing company Phoenix Cobham as well as running Dog Training One2One and A-ZAnimals, have helped coach thousands of animals using an American training method Mr Cott refers to as 'dog whispering.'